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June
21, 2000
Municipalities
decide the future of ambulance service
STATUS OF AMBULANCE DOWNLOADING TO THE MUNICIPALITIES
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The Ontario government is downloading
responsibility for ambulance services to Upper -Tier Municipalities
(county or regional governments). UTMs have until September 3, 2000
to select ambulance service providers. The UTMS are required to give
120 days notice to the Ministry of Health and the current operators
of the services, before the changeover can occur.
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The new services will take over at
the latest, Jan. 1, 2001. Durham, Niagara and York Regions assumed
responsibility for ambulance services Jan. 1, 2000. Haldimand-Norfolk
and Middlesex assumed responsibility Jan. 28, 2000 and Apr. 23, 2000
respectively.
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The decision-making can
be a two step process. The UTMs have to choose between three
delivery models: 1) Run the ambulance service directly as a
municipal service; 2) Contract out the services through a Request
for Proposals (RFP) – a tender; or 3) Negotiate contracts with
existing service providers.
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If the UTMs choose to
contract out, then the second step is issuing the RFP and awarding
the contract. If the UTMs choose to negotiate with existing
providers, then they have to complete the negotiations.
Municipalities where downloading
has gone through - new operator or services have gone municipal:
|
Upper-Tier Municipality |
Status of downloading |
Ambulance services ceased to
operate |
|
Durham |
Durham operates a region-wide ambulance service, as of Jan.
1. |
As of Jan. 1, 2000: Oshawa-Markham
(OPS), Uxbridge-Stouffville, Beaverton base of Beaverton &
District, Port Perry base of Lindsay & District |
|
Niagara |
Hotel Dieu Hospital in St. Catharines took over operation of
a regional ambulance service on Jan. 1. |
As of Jan. 1, 2000: Port Colborne,
West Lincoln, Book, Niagara Falls (OPS), Niagara-on-the-Lake
(hospital |
|
York |
York operates a region-wide ambulance service as of Jan. 1. |
As of Jan. 1, 2000: York (OPS),
Nobleton, Uxbridge-Stouffville, Sutton-Queensville, Keswick base
of Beaverton |
| Middlesex |
As of
April 23, Thames Emergency Medical Services, (local operators
Mac Gilpin and Rick Denning) became the provider of ambulance
services in the county. They have a three-year contract for the
county, with a two–year negotiable extension. OPSEU represents
the paramedics. |
As of
April 23, 2000: Ambulance Service Consulting Inc (license
formerly held by Thames Valley), Lambton-Middlesex (Glencoe),
North Middlesex (Parkhill) |
Municipalities where
downloading has gone through – no change in operators
|
Upper-Tier Municipality |
Status of Downloading |
OPSEU services (crown agents, except where noted) |
|
Haldimand-Norfolk |
County assumed responsibility for ambulance services Jan. 28.
The County negotiated two-year contracts plus a year’s option
for renewal with existing service providers. Contracts in effect
Feb. 1. |
Green’s |
Municipalities which
will take the ambulance services in-house:
|
Upper-Tier Municipality |
Status of downloading |
OPSEU services (crown agents, except where noted) |
|
Brant |
Council has voted to take the ambulance service in-house as a
municipal service. The changeover date is Aug. 29. |
Brant County |
|
Bruce |
Council voted April 13 to take the ambulance services
in-house as a municipal service. The changeover date is Nov. 5. |
Walkerton, Chesley, Wiarton (all hospital), Kincardine, Port
Elgin (both bases of Owen Sound Emergency Services) |
|
Cornwall |
Council decided April 26 to provide ambulance service as a
municipal service for Cornwall and the United Counties of
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. |
Cornwall OPS, and three bases of St. Lawrence Ambulance
Service: Winchester, Finch and Morrisburg. |
|
Essex |
The County will take the Windsor Ministry of Health (OPS)
service in-house. The County will contract with the three
current owner-operators (Sun Parlour, Harrow and Amherstberg) to
continue running their services, probably for the next two
years. |
Windsor (OPS), Amherstburg |
|
Haliburton |
County council voted June 23/99 to take over the Ministry of
Health ambulance service and run it directly as a municipal
service. Haliburton is currently in negotiations with the
Ministry of Health. No changeover date has been announced;
county is aiming for before the end of the year. |
Haliburton, Minden (bases of Orillia-Haliburton OPS). |
|
Halton |
Council voted Dec. 8/99 to cease negotiations with the
current providers and take the ambulance services in-house by no
later than Jan. 1, 2001. Changeover date is sometime in August. |
Halton Hills, four bases of Halton-Mississauga: two in
Burlington, and one each in Oakville and Milton. |
|
Hamilton-Wentworth |
Council voted Feb. 15 to abandon negotiations with existing
service providers, and instead take the ambulance services
in-house and run a municipal ambulance service, starting Aug. 1. |
Fleetwood, Superior, Danver |
|
Huron |
Council voted Dec. 2/99 to directly operate ambulance
services starting Jan. 1, 2001. A consultant’s study on
ambulance deployment and staffing will be made public June 1.
There will be two public open-houses: June 5, 7-9pm at the
Huntville United Church, and June 6, 2-4 pm at Blythe Anglican
Church. County will likely start advertising for paramedics in
July and August. |
Clinton/Seaforth, Dashwood |
|
Lambton |
Lambton Council voted March 8 to take the ambulance services
in-house. That decision was finalized on March 30. Staffing to
be discused in June with Council. Changeover date is Dec. 15. |
North Lambton (base in Thedford), Petrolia & District, |
| Leeds-Grenville |
Leeds-Grenville
Council voted June 15 to take the ambulance services in-house,
starting Jan. 1, 2001. County also interested in a
"fire-based EMS" system for ambulance. Wants the
province to hand over ambulance dispatch to Brockville Fire Dept’s
dispatch centre. |
Prescott
and Kemptville bases of St. Lawrence Ambulance Service, North
Leeds, Ganonoque. |
|
Ottawa-Carleton |
Council voted Feb. 23 in favour of the Community Services
Committee’s recommendation for an in-house ambulance service
for a two-year period, from Jan. 1, 2001 to Jan. 1, 2003. At the
end of the two years, the region will evaluate whether it wants
to proceed with an RFP. |
Ottawa (OPS), Orleans base of Rockland-Orleans, Richmond base
of Carleton Place/Richmond, Kanata base of Arnprior/Kanata
Barhaven & Queensway-Carleton bases of St. Lawrence
Ambulance, Eastern Medical Services (formerly Osgoode, OLRA), |
Municipalities negotiating with
existing service providers:
|
Upper-Tier Municipality |
Status of downloading |
OPSEU services (crown agents, except where noted) |
|
Frontenac
|
The province has designated the Frontenac Management Board as
the entity responsible for selecting the ambulance service
provider (s) for the county, including the city of Kingston.
Frontentac is currently negotiating with existing service
providers. It hopes to complete negotiations by the end of
June.
|
Hotel Dieu (hospital), Parham |
|
Hastings |
The County has entered into negotiations with existing
providers. Hope to complete the negotiations by the end of June. |
Bancroft Ambulance Service, and Belleville and Madoc bases of
City Ambulance Service. |
|
Lennox-Addington |
The County will enter into negotiations with the existing
service providers and hopes to have the negotiations completed
by the end of June. |
Napanee base of City Ambulance |
|
Oxford |
County is negotiating with existing providers. County hopes
the new contract will start July 1 or August 1. |
Woodstock |
|
Prince Edward |
County Council authorized May 23 for county staff to enter
into negotiations with City Ambulance to continue providing the
ambulance service as of January 1, 2001. |
Picton base of City Ambulance Service |
|
Victoria |
Council voted Feb. 16 to negotiate with the existing service
providers to provide ambulance services until Dec. 31, 2001. |
Lindsay and District, Fenelon Falls (base of Beaverton &
District). |
Municipalities which have
selected a mix of new and existing service providers:
|
Upper-Tier Municipality |
Status of downloading |
OPSEU services (crown agents,
except where noted) |
|
Grey |
On June 6, County Council awarded
the contract for ambulance services for the county to the Owen
Sound Fire Dept., starting Jan. 1, 2001. |
Owen Sound Emergency Services,
Durham (OPS), Hanover, Meaford, Markdale (all hospital) |
|
Lanark |
The County and Almonte General
Hospital have signed a service agreement for the hospital to
provide ambulance services for the entire county, starting Sept.
1. |
Smith Falls (OPS), Almonte
(hospital), Carleton Place base of Carleton Place/Richmond |
|
Muskoka |
Has selected non-union Muskoka
Ambulance to be the provider of ambulance services, county-wide,
starting Jan. 1, 2001. |
Mactier (OLRA? delivered by the
West Parry Sound Health Centre) |
|
Peel |
Peel close to completing its
negotiations with Brampton Fire Dept., Canadian Medical Response
(CMR) and Dufferin-Caledon Health Care Corp. (hospital in
Orangeville). Municipal staff will have something for Council by
the end of May or early June. Council voted Oct. 21/99 to
negotiate with the Brampton Fire Dept. to take over ambulance
services for Brampton; CMR (through its Halton-Mississauga
service) to continue operating in Mississauga and to expand into
Streetsville; and Dufferin-Caledon Health Care Corp. to deliver
ambulance services in Caledon & Bolton. The changeover of
operations is Jan. 1, 2001. |
Central Peel Regional Ambulance
– formerly Peel-York (OPS), the four Mississauga bases of
Halton-Mississauga, Lee and
Bolton. |
|
Renfrew |
The County is negotiating with
Pembroke General Hospital (whose paramedics are represented by
CUPE) to provide ambulance services for the county. |
Renfrew (OPS), Deep River
(hospital), St. Francis Memorial in Barry’s Bay (hospital),
Arnprior base of Arnprior-Kanata. |
Municipalities that are
issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP):
|
Upper-Tier Municipality |
Status of downloading |
OPSEU services (crown agents, except where noted) |
|
Chatham-Kent |
The County has received responses to its RFP. Council is
expected to select a proponent in early June. |
Chatham, Bothwell (base of Lambton-Middlesex)
|
| Northumberland |
The
County received two submissions to its original RFP, both from
existing providers: Lakeshore Ambulance Service and Rutherford
Ambulance of Colborne. The County cancelled the RFP in mid-June.
It has decided to re-write the RFP. |
Lakeshore
Ambulance Service (bases in Cobourg and Port Hope) |
|
Prescott-Russell |
The County issued an RFP May 17. There is a mandatory bidders
meeting on May 24 and the deadline for submissions is June 30.
Council will make a decision by the end of August. The
Rockland-Orleans Ambulance Service has announced that it will
not put in a bid. |
Rockland base of Rockland-Orleans, & Casselman &
Embrun bases of St. Lawrence Ambulance Service. |
|
Simcoe |
Council has received 3 submissions to its RFP. Council was
advised in camera May 23 the direction staff plans to go in.
County aims to complete negotiations with the winning bidder(s)
and publicly announce who they are by June 27. It could be one
contract for the entire county, or split into two contracts: one
for the north and one for the south. |
Bradford, Orillia (OPS), Wasaga Beach, Collingwood, Stevenson
Memorial Hospital in Alliston (hospital) |
Municipalities which
have yet to select a delivery model and service provider(s):
|
Upper-Tier Municipality |
Status of downloading |
OPSEU services (crown agents, except where noted) |
|
Nipissing (district) |
Not an upper-tier, so doesn’t automatically have
responsibility for ambulance. The province has to designate a
delivery agent – a municipality, District Social Services
Board, or Area Services Board -- by Jan. 1, 2001. The delivery
agent is to decide who will provide the ambulance service. To
date, the District Social Services Board is not interested in
being responsible for ambulance. |
Temagami |
|
Parry Sound (district) |
Not an upper-tier, so doesn’t automatically have
responsibility for ambulance. See explanation for Nipissing.
Same situation applies to Parry Sound. |
West Parry Sound Health Centre, (hospital), South River |
|
Sudbury (district) |
Not an upper-tier. Sudbury District has been amalgamated with
Manitoulin District to form a District Social Services Board .
To date, the DSSB is not interested in assuming responsibility
for ambulance. The province will have to appoint a delivery
agent by Jan. 1, 2001 who will then select a service provider. |
Noelville |
|
Wellington |
The county and city of Guelph have asked the province to
designate Guelph as the delivery agent. Guelph (with the county’s
input) will then go ahead and issue an RFP. They are looking for
one ambulance provider for the whole county. |
Mount Forest, Royal City-Fergus, Royal City-Guelph,
Palmerston (hospital) |
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